2 PhD positions ?Assessment and adaptation to chemical risks in water systems? (1.0 FTE)

The Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development will host two PhD candidates on the following topics:

1: Chemical emissions in water resources in a changing world: Integrating climate change scenarios with chemical emissions, fate and effect models of agricultural and urban systems.
2: Future changes in chemical risks in urban and agricultural systems and exploring mitigation options.

Although based in Utrecht, both PhD candidates are expected and encouraged to participate in the Marie Curie Innovative Training Network. Three months of collaborative visits to European project partners are already planned, as well as co-operation with both PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency and KWR Watercycle Research Institute.

For the first topic, the central research directions are: 

assessment and downscaling of emission sources from the different water sectors by using the Socio-Economic Pathways as implemented in the IMAGE model and use backcasting scenarios based on maximum permissible risk levels in water bodies for 2050;  assessment of current and future chemical emissions, fate and effects in urban and agricultural systems for three selected regions (covering main European climates) depending on technological and governing regulations; a planned longer term visit to BOKU (Austria).

For the second topic, the central research directions are:

to gain insight in a robust implementation of possible mitigation options to improve future surface water and groundwater quality and achieve a non-toxic aqueous environment in 2050. The research will focus on supply and demand to the water-system by households, energy, agriculture and industry sector. In this project we will make projections of future water use, and sector-specific demands for good water quality; to evaluate both technical and non-technical mitigation options to improve water quality and meet the goal of a non-toxic environment in 2050 at both river basin and local scale, also expressed in terms of adverse health effects; a planned longer term visit to NIVA (Norway).